Rope winding machine



Sept. 4, 1951 D. J. YAKE ROPE WINDING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledNov. 10. 1949 Daozallke Sept. 4, 1951 D. J. YAKE ROPE WINDINQ MACHINE 4Shee'tS -Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 10. 1949 Sept. 4, 1951 D. J. YAKE 2,556,973

ROPE WINDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 10. 1949 4 Sheet s-Sheet 5 p 1 I D. J.YAKE 2,566,973

ROPE WINDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 10. 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Patented Sept. 4, 19 51 U NI TED S TAT E55. F1 E R'OPEWINDING *MACHI'NE'.David J. Xake,.Lamber:tville, N. ,J- ApplicationLNoVember 10, 1949;serm n. 126,537

i This invention relates to the art c t-rope mak ing and moreparticularly toama'chinefor continuously winding a strand or a rope. v

Machines employed for winding J ither metallic wire rope or non metallic'rop'e are commonly designated as either "*verticarstranders prherizcntal-strandersi essentially *aturntable which marries a number ofspools for the--wires -or thread's which-are le'd' through -a perforatedfiange and then wound around-a cent'er eere'to' fr'm the rope.Such-averticalstrander has two not'ewofthy diSaclvam- Fir-st, wheneverone of "the spoo'ls -'on theturntable becomes empty, it isnecessary tostopthe machine inorder to replenish the wire-"ontages.

n 'vertical stra-nde-r comprises 324 Claims; (Cl.;-57.6)

the spool or tmadda-filled-apool. Secondly, due V tot'he -inherentweight of-the movingparts and centrifugaL-forcesd'eveloped in a machineof this character, the maximum speed 'w ith which=rope could -be made isdefinitely limited.

- The horizontal -sr'a'nder representsa later die-'- velopment awh'ibhenableswa noticeable-increase inspeed over the iverticalstrander. Patent0. 1;581,253.:toi-Connor is illustrativeofrsiicha horizontal .strand'er:and increased-speed is obtai ned due .to a the reduction in the.diameter of there volving parts. This reduction 'was. in turn achievedby. :placing zthe. spools .in amend-to end position with iaxes:paralle1s.to.:the :main-slrait'. so

that the. length; of =.the;machine isi-increasezdirather.

than the diameter .of the-turntable. :Nevertheless, horizontal strandersof tall ;knowna varieti'es must be stopped whenzitbecomesmecessaryatoreplenish one of..-the. individualspools.

.The .present, invention; for its primary- 10bject .the provision of a:rope .wincling machine having axially spaced wire spoolsswhichimayibestopped independently of: thema-inshait and thus maybe replenished-.:without.=stopping the .shaft or interrupting .Ithe winding operation.7

.A..further object. of the invention. is. to provide in a horizontalstrander a plurality of wire-or strand spools, a storage drurr'iaxiallypositioned with resp'e'ct't'o each cfis'aid spools sotha't when thespools areheld' stationary, wireis withdrawn from the "spools and storedon the drjuin,,.and me'ansfor simultaneously replenishing'lth'e "supply-o"f-wire-onthe spool. I

A "further obj ect of the invention is 'tojprovide means "for're'pleni's'hing the Wire on individual spools (if a horizontal"strander "which means is easyto manipulate and" which permits the wireto 'be replenished in aminimum'bf time.

Further obj eets will he apparent from the speciflcation ariddrawings inwh'ich-z Fig. 1 is atop viewer-a four strandrope Wind ing macl'iineconstructed inacc'ordance with my invention;

Fig. 2-iis an enlarged-transverse section of the structure of Fig.seenat li'ne 2-4 of Fig. '1';-

1Fig. 3is an enlarged iragrnentarydetail or the structure-asseen'atS-Q=of Fig; 1 I

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail as seen at 4- 4 of Fig. 3

Fig..5 is an enlargeiiatietail di the flrst or'le'fthand spooland the"replenishing apparatus;

Fig. 6 is a transverse .-.section as seen 'at "6- 6 oflFig. 5; Fig. 5ais anenlargeedetail -a --seen-'at "Ba-pi Fig.6.;

Fig. 7 is a transversesecticn-as"seen at 1- 1 of.Fi 6.;

Fig. 8 is a, ti ansverse section -as' seen at '8--"=8 OfYFig. '6

Fig. 9- shows :the structure (if-"Fig. =5 when thespool is h'el'c'lstationary;

.Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional detail as "seen at l'-0'l'0 of Fig.5.;

Fig. 11 a partly sectioned view similar to Fig. '6,.of a modified fforin- "of reek-assembly;

.Fig... 12 is a perspective--of-the modified-transfer reel shown in Fig;11'; p

. Fig. 13 is a perspective of the end' of the mainreel shownin Fig-.i-11;

Figs. 14. and 15 show:-S'teps in transferring a posed Gi a-plurality*ofindividiiai wires, one of which is usually-a center wire andtherem'ainde'r. of which "are secondary 'wires 'iai'd b1 twisted aroundthe center -wire:toformfiaihelix; Thefindividual-*'strands are w'oimdinuch.;the same way as theiniiividual wires off-the strand to form a'completed'rope which has a .core .n'suallyjof hemp or-of-asma1lwirerqpeand aro'undwh'ich the strands are laid sothatthe strands ;themselves also form a'helix .a boiit'ithe. rope center.

The-present invention comprises essentially a series of axiallypositioned reels from which the individual wires making up a strand orthe individual strands making up a rope, are fed into the bore of ahollow central shaft and from whence the wires or strands are carried tothe rope forming elements of the machine. The storage spools for thewire are frictionally engaged with the main shaft but may be readilyheld stationary by hand or by a suitable brake. A feed eye for the wire"is rigidly secured to the central shaftand is axially spaced on theshaft with respect to the reel. The gap between the feed eye and thereel contains a storage spool which is free to rotate on the shaft or toremain.

stationary with respect to the shaft. A second feed eye between thestorage spool and the reel has a frictional engagement with the reeland, in effect floats between the reel and the spool. The

fed directly into a forming die 22 mounted iii bracket 23. When theshaft is rotated on bearings I4, the individual wires are wrapped aroundthe core It as they are drawn through die 22 by means of a power pulley24. The completed strand or rope is wound several times around a seconddrum 25 in order to provide suiflcient frictional engagement between thestrand and the drum. The strand is then led over a pulley 26 and onto astorage drum 21. Motor 28 drives the shaft l3 through-countershaft 29,pulleys 30, 3| and belt 32. Countershaft 29 is drivingly connected toshaft l3 by means of pulleys 33, 54 and belt 35. Drum 24 is likewisedriven from shaft 29 through belt 36 and a suitable speed reduction unit31. It will be understood that in general, the structure describedheretofore is well known in the rope manufacturing art but an imfunctionof the second eye is to insure the proper tension in the wire and alsoto control the man ner in which thewire pays off the reel.

When a reel is stopped, theshaft and the other,

rope forming elements of the machinecontinue to operate in the usualmanner but wire is drawn from the stationaryreel and wound onto thestorage spool. A replenishing reel is coaxially mounted on the centralshaft and is axially slidable with respect thereto. 7 Both the main reeland the replenishing reel have fingers that are inter-engaged when thereplenishing reel is axially moved on the shaft. In this position, acoil of wire which has previously been wound on the replenishing reelmay be transferred to the main reel, whereupon the replenishing reel isretracted and the main reel is released. As soon as the main reel turnsagain with the shaft, wire which has been wound on the storage spoolduring the replenishing operation is gradually fed into the centralshaft until wire is drawn directly from the-main reel in the mannerinitially described.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. l of the drawings, one form ofstrand orrope winding machine comprises a plurality of. individual wiresupply units each designated generally by the numeral 12 Q ihe drawings.For the purposes of the present description, it will be assumed that themachine shown in Fig. 1 is 'winding a strand from wire, although it willbe understood that the same construction and even the identical machine,maybeused to wind rope from nominetal- P lic strands or filaments;Likewise, the machine shown in Fig. 1 is one in which six wires arebeing wound around a center but for th purpose of clarity, only four ofthe wire supply units |2 are shown. By extending the length of themachine to the left (as seen in Fig. 1) any number of .supply units l2may be added to Wind wires or strands of any material about ,a center.However, since the individual units |2lare identical to each other, itis considered suflicient for the purposes of the-present disclosure todescribe only one unit in detail, together with the feeding andwinding.v

elements of the machine.

A hollow main shaft 3 is journaled in bearings l4, l4 and extends theentire length of the winding machine. Shaft 3 guides and encloses thefilaments .of wire or other material designated generally at|5in Figs. 1and 3, and also the center or core l6 which is fed into the extreme endof shaft 3 from spool IT. The opposite end of shaft l3 carries anaxially perforated flang through which the wires. |5 ar threaded, afterthey have been withdrawn from th eyes 2|, 2| in the shaft (as shown inFig. :4) The center |6 however, continues through the shaft i3 and isportant departure from previous practice is to feed the individual wiresor strands through a hollow central shaft rather than to carry them fromthe flange 20.

Referring now toFigs. 5 and 6, each one of the individual spool units |2comprises the main or pr-mary reel assembly 4|] having a central hub,

or sleeve 4| journaled on main shaft I3 by means of ball bearings 42 and43. Hub 4| tends to rotatewith shaft l3 due to a friction element whichis mounted in hub 4| and is urged against the periphery of shaft [3 bymeans of a spring 45- Hub 4| carrieshaving an adjusting screw 46. aplurality of radially extending webs 41, 41

to which fingers 48, 48 are pivoted by means of links 49, 49. Web 41, 41are formed integrally with a lidable sleeve 5|] mounted on hub 4| whichis provided with a slot 5| to clear the.

boss 52in hub 4| for the friction element 44.

Fingers 48, 48 are adapted to expand and con-- tract radially withrespect'to sleeve and are.

retained-axially by means of pins53, 53 which engage the sides of aflange 54 rigidly attached' Figs. 5 and ,6 show the fingers 48' to hub4|. in a fully expanded position in which they are retained by a latch55 which engages a collar 56 on sleeve 50. Latch 55 is spring-loaded bymeans of a spring 51 secured to flange 54 by means of bolt 58. Whenlatch 55 is raised, sleeve 50 may be moved axially to the left v(as seenin Fig. 6)

so that fingers 48 are retracted radially. The

fingers are of ii-shaped cross-section and the; outer faces 48a of thefinger -may be curved or;

convex if desired, as shown in Fig. 7.

A floating eye flange 60 having an axially extending eye 6|, isfrictionally mounted on hub 4|, and rotational driving force istransmitted from hub 4| to the floating eye flange 60 by means of africtional element 62 which is adjustably spring-loaded in flange 60 bymeans of spring 63 and screw 64." It will thus be apparent that flange60 tends to rotate with hub. 4| but limited relative rotation betweenthe hub and the flange takes. place in accordance with.

the pressure of the friction element. v

A storage spool 651s freely journaled on the periphery of shaft |3 andis positioned axially adjacent the flange 60. In order toeliminate thenecessity for integral flanges on the spool, the. periphery of spool 65is axially concave or curved, as shown clearly in Fig. 6. Immediatelyadjacent spool 65, a fixed flange 66 is rigidly attachedto shaft |3 bymeans of set screw 61.-

Flange 56 i provided with an eye 68 through which wire 69 is threadedThe length 6901' individual spools directly to the em -is else Itstretches "between eyes 61 and 68 "across s'boo 65 as Shawn in Fig. -6)whereupon it is red llnto the bore of shaft [3 through eye .21.

The replenishing reel 10 is freely rotatable on 'shaft [3 andijs'slidably mounted thereon at the oppos'ite end of reel "4D. Reel Hlhas a hub 'Ijl'of relatively small diameter to which a radie'all'y'extending flange 12 i attached axiallyoppo= site from the reelflll. A plurality of axially extending fingers 13, 13 are formedintegrally with flange '12 and are so positioned that they may fitbetween the outer faces 48a, 48a or finger 48,48 when the reel 10 ismoved-axially oh shaft "[3. The periphery of fingers l3 is -pr o'-vide'd with a'naxial taper so that the minim-um diffiiterdf the fingersis substantially less than the maximum expanded diameter of fingers '48,whereas the maxi'fiium diameter offinger 13 is edual to or slightlygreater than the maximum diameter of fingers "48. A further feature ofthe construction of reel 10 is illustrated in Fig. 6a which shows theperiphery 14 of flange 12 extending somewhat beyond the maximum diameterof fingers 13. It will be noted that a short axial distance at the baseof fingers 13 has a cylindrical configuration in which there is no.taper. In practice, the width of the cylindrical portion 15 issufficient to permit at least two or "three turn of strand or wire 69 tobe wound thereon before the convolutionsare forced onto the taperingsurface of fingers T3. The .purpose of this construction will bedescribed more fully hereinafter.

The-periphery 74 of reel 1!} also is engaged between collars 80 and BIwhich are secured to a shaft 82 by means of set screws 83, 83. Shaft 82is rotatably-andslidably mounted in brackets 84 84 ;on base 85, and isprovided with asuitable actuating handle 68 engageable against top 81."A cam 88 is also mounted on shaft 82 between collars 81] and 8| so thatwhen shaft 82 is rotated by means of handle 86, the cam 88 may be usedas a, brake to'slow down or to stop reel '10 and also reel 40 when thetwo "reels are h'ga'ged.

"Reel '40 may be stopped while "the winding machine continues tooperate, by means of a brake shoe 9% (Fig. 8) which i actuated bylifeansof lever'9l and connecting link 92. A suitable ratchet lock93 forthe brake is pivoted in bracket 94 and retained in looking positionbymeans of spring'95.

It will be'understood that the'brakes on'eithe'r orboth of the reels"are not essential'since in many cases, andespeciallyon'smaller'machines,

the reel 40 maybe man'ual'ly'stoppedand held du'ringthetransferoperation. Where the "size ofth'e machine'issu'ch that a' brakeis not needed, it may "also be possible todispense with the expandingand contracting feature for the 'reel fingers d8 on'reel ie. Figs. 11-14illustrate "such a'imodified reel construction. 7

Injthisfcas e, the main reel I535} is fo'rmedfinte'grally with'hub iiwhich is extended ateither endto receive bearings 62 so 1 that thereellttl is substantially solid throughout most of its length. The"outererid however, is provided with a plurality'bffingeis H12, 62which-extend beyoncl' the enetrhub 4i. Some of the fingers Hi2are'slottedat their ends andeariy'clogs; ie-3, Hi3 which are pivoted "onems Hi l and-have c'ounterweights H35,

H35. A suitable; 'liiiiit-stop l "for each dog-is so fios'itioned that'thenpper surface of the dog is permitted to be enclosed in I the slotsiii '1'. Other fingers I 92 have "suitable holes H18 in-whicl'r splitrt'aihing "pins l 09, [-09 nay be inserted diirin'gthe transferoperation. Likewise, the periphery 6f bdth 'r'eels'Ml and Hill may beprovided withholes Hfi), H 0 adapted to receive the wire retainingpinsI09.

The transfer reel 1 H used in conjunction with reel I 00 is likewise ofslightly modifie'dconstruction and is provided with relatively narrowaxiall-y extendingslots H2, 1 l2 in which fingers I02 may b'ejen'gaged.Slots H 2 are out into the wide fiange N3 of the transfer reel at apoint=beyond'the coil forming face H4 of theieel. Reel H2 is like"-wise'providedwith suitableholes HE-and llfion the tapered surface 1-Hand the periphery of the flange 113 respectively.

I The procedure for replenishing the Wire on the transfer reel while themachine operates fis as iollo'ws: when-the amount of wireon the mainreel 40 or l'llfl 'has'been substantially withdrawn, this're'el is held'stationarybybrake shoe 99 or by hand. Inthis position, the floatingdisc Ell turns on sleeve '5i in accordance with the tension 6! flexibleelement 62 and excess wire unwound from the reel is stored on spool 65as-shown in-=Fig. 9. The first few turns of the wire on the main re'el,as well as the friction of floating'disc fie provide the required backtension for this operation. With the main reel held stationary, thetransfer reel it or I l i carrying'a new coil of Wire is-moiiei axiallyto the righto'n shaft +3 so that the fingers on the main and transferreels become inter erigaged. In the case of the constructionof FigJB,the fingers 38 are-radiallyretr'acted by releasing latch '55 and slidingsleeve 41 axially to the left. With the reels interen-g-aged, the ends1T8 oi the new coil and the end H9 of the old coil are secured togetherby welding or any-'othersuitable-means. "Fig. 14 illustrates the ends H'Ban'd HS in. position just before the welding operation. As 'soon asends l8 and H9 are secured to each other, split pins I69, H19 which holdends H8 and i 49 on thetransier and main reels'respectively'arewithdrawn. Pin I09 which-holdsthe trail-.- ing end i2!) of the new coilis transferred to one of the holes 183 in the --main reel. The transferreel is then withdrawn to the left, as shown in Fig. 15, to complete thetransfer-of thene'w ooil to-themain-reel idll.

In efiecting a transfer with the structure of Fig. 6, it will benecessary to release brake shoe before the transfer reel l0 is movedcompletely into a transfer position. For this purpose th'e transfer reelis may bs'inoved sufficiently to engage only the outer edge of fingers48, whereuponbrake is released and brakeSB is rotated to contact theperiphery Id of flange'lz, thus-holding both reel it? and reel '48 fromturning. in this position, the reel' lfl may be further moved totheright by means of the shaft 82 until the new coil is entirely overthe fingers 48. After the ends of the coils have been secured, "asdescribed above, reel -40 is retracted andthe'n'ew coil-as wellas theremainder of the old coil, are moved axially to the right on fingers48-to substantially the position shown in Fig. 5. This o peration may bedone manually or by insertingohe or more pins 89 in holes H5, H5-of reel10 and thenmoving the reel to theright a second tinie to "slide bothcoils axially on fingers 48. Wlien the new coil has been located-in theproper pdsi s ti'orr on finger*e8, the trailing end of-the-new-coh isretained by oneof'the pins I99 which is inserted many of the holesl'I-fl-in the-fingers=-48, s s shown in Fig. '5. The-fingers arethenexpa-nded byinoving-"sleevefll to the right, wiiereupon it 7 ma belatched, as shown in Fig. 6. Then either or. both brakes 88 or 90 isreleased and the reel 40 resumes its rotation. It will be understoodthat brake 90 will not be applied when the coil of wire is being movedover the portion of the fingers 48 that would otherwise be held by thebrake. If it is necessary to hold the reel from turning during thisoperation, brake 88 may be used or the reel may be held manually. Duringthe transfer however, the wire has built up on storage spool 65. Thiswill gradually pay out through eye 68 until it has all been removed,whereupon the wire extends directly across spool 65, as shown in Figs. 5and 6. Fig. 1 represents schematically the relative amounts of wire onthe various spools of a junction with swift I 30.. As the wire is wound,onto the transfer reel, successive convolutions thereof push thepreviously wound convolution's to the right on the transfer reel, asshown iii'Figs. 6 and 1 Since the cylindrical portion I5 extends axiallyfor approximately only three turns; the initial convolutions of wirebecome loose on the tapered portion of the transfer reel. When asufficient supply of wire has been wound on thetransfer reel to form anew coil, the reel is stopped by disengaging drum I24 from contact withthe strander and not necessarily the actual num- .ber of turns that maybe present. The extreme left-hand unit I2 in Fig. 1 shows the filamentstored on spool 65 and indicates the stopped position of reel 40 justprior to transfer of a coil. In actual practice, the winding of the newcoil on reel l would ordinarily be completed before reel 40 is stopped.

When a transfer is made with a reel of the construction shown in Figs.11-14, dogs I03, I03 pivot in a clockwise direction as reel I II ismoved into engagement with reel I09. This permits the dogs to slideunderneath the new coil of wire. When the reel I I I has been moved intonearly complete engagement with reel I00, the counterweights I on thedogs strike the walls I2I of slots II2 to pivot the dogs to a verticalposition in back of the new coil (Fig. 14) so that the dogs I 03 retainthe new coil on fingers I02 when reel I I I is withdrawn (Fig. 15).The-operator may, if he desires, move the entire new coil to the righton reel I00, either manually or by means of pins inserted in holes I I5of reel I I I, or the new coil may be left on fingers I02 until it issubstantially depleted. In either event, it is only necessary to movethe new coil to the right a suhicient distance so that the pin I09holding the trailing end of the new coil may be transferred from one ofthe holes I08 on fingers I02 to one of the holes H0 in the reel, thusavoiding interference when the next new reel is transferred.

In order to make the entire transfer, the operator leaves sufficientwire on the main reel so that he may make the transfer before all thewire has been wound on the storage spool 65.

The procedure for winding the new coil on either reel I0 or reel I I Iis substantially the same and will now be described. A pulley I23 isconnected to the countershaft 29 and is drivingly connected with afriction drum I through pulley I and belt I26. Drum I24 and pulley I25are mounted on lever I2! which is pivoted to the base 85 at I28. LeverI27 may be manually pivoted to engage the periphery 14 of flange 12 withdrum I24 to cause rotation of the transfer reel on shaft I3. Thisrotation will of course, be in a counterclockwise direction as seen inFig. 2, in order that the new coil may be wound on the transfer reelfrom the bottom. Each unit is provided with a swift I30 on which asupply I3I of wire is placed.

In the winding of the transfer reel, the leading end of the wire supplyI3I is carried over a block I32 which guides the wire onto thecylindrical portion 15 of the transfer reels and against the verticalfaces 12a and H4. The leading end of the wire is pinned in one of theholes II5 near the forward end of the reel. Desired tension in thewinding operation is provided by means of a suitable tension device I33which operates in conreel. Then the trailing end of the wire is securedby a pin I09 inserted in one of the holes H6 in the periphery 14 or II3of the reel flange. .The wire may then be cut and the transfer rearsready for the replenishing operation as described. above. i-

It will thus be apparent that I have provided.- a continuous rope orstrand winding machine, which may be attended by one operator and, whichnever has to be shut down for the purpose of replenishing any of thespools. The machine.- is relatively simple and easy to operate. An,especial advantage in addition to the continuous operation feature,resides in the fact that it can: handle a mill coil of wire and does notrequire that the wire be wound on a spool before it can feed to themachine. In all previous stranding machines, it is necessary that thewire be transferred from a mill coil to a spool before it can be used inthe strander. Since the winding of the new coils on the transfer reelsconditions the coil properly to be received by the strander, it is'possible to place the mill coils directly onthe swifts, therebyeliminating one operation in the process of forming wire rope.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a strander comprising a hollowcentral shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means carried by saidshaftfor twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawing saidfilaments and core; through said last-named means, a plurality offilament feeding units arranged end-to-end'on" said shaft, at least oneof said units comprising a main reel concentric with and frictionallymounted on said shaft, a floating eye member frictionally mounted onsaid reel and adapted to, draw a filament therefrom, a storage spoolfree 1y rotatable on said shaft adjacent said floating. member, a fixedeye member rigidly mounted on said shaft adjacent the storage spool, anda transfer reel rotatably and slid-ably mounted on said shaft at theopposite end of the reel.

2. In ropemanufacturing apparatus, a strand-' er comprising a hollowcentral shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means carried by saidshaft for twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawingsaid filaments and core through said last-named means, a plurality offilament feeding units arranged end-to-end on said shaft, at least oneof said units comprising a main reel concentric with and frictionallyvmounted on said shaft, a floating eye member frictionally mounted onsaid reel and adapted to draw a filament therefrom, a storage spoolfreely rotatable on said shaft adjacent said floating member, a fixedeye member rigidly mounted on said shaft adjacent the storage spool, atransfer reel rotatably and slidably mounted on said shaft. at theopposite end of the reel, a plurality of axially extending fingers onsaid main reel, and a. plurality of juxtaposed oppositely extendingfin-. gers on said transfer reel, said fingers adapted to 'interengageeach other when the transfer reel. is

through said last-named means, a plurality of filament feeding unitsarranged end-to-end on said shaft, at. least one of said unitscomprising a main reel concentric. with and frictionally mounted on saidshaft, a floating eye. member frictionally mounted on said reel andadapted to draw a filament therefrom, a storage spool freely rotatableon said shaft adjacent said floating member, a fixed eye member rigidlymounted on said shaft adjacent the storage spool, a transfer reelrotatably and slidably mounted on said shaft at the opposite end of thereel, a plurality of axially extending fingers on said. main reel, aplurality of juxtaposed oppositely extending fingers. onsaid transferreel, said fingers adapted to interengage each-other when the transferreel is moved axially onv the. shaft, and means on the outer peripheryof the, fingers to retain the ends of a wire coil 4 mounted on saidshaft, a floating eye member frictionally mounted on said reel andadapted to draw a. filament therefrom, a storage spool freely rotatableon said shaft adjacent said float ing member, a fixed eye member rigidlymounted on said shaft adjacent the storage spool, a transfer reelrotatably and slidably mounted on said shaft at the opposite end of thereel, a. plurality of axially extending fingers on said main reel, a

plurality of juxtaposed oppositely extending fingers on said transferreel, said fingers adapted to interengage each. other when the transferreel is moved axially on the shaft, means on the outer periphery of thefingers to retain the ends of a wire coil thereon, and means on the endof at least one of the main reel fingers for engaging a coil of wire andretaining the coil on the main reel fingers when the transfer reel isaxially moved away from the main reel.

5. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a strand- 1..

er comprising a hollow central shaft having a plurality of eyes in theperiphery thereof, means for rotating said shaft, means carried by saidshaft for twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawingsaid filaments and core through said last-named means and through saideyes in the shaft, a plurality of filament feeding uni-ts arrangedend-to-end on said shaft, at least one of said units comprising a mainreel concentric with: and frictionally mounted on said shaft,'-s

a floating eye member frictionally mounted on said reel and. adapted todraw a filament therefrom, a storage spool freely rotatable on saidShaft adjacent said floating member, a fixed eye member rigidly mountedon said shaft adjacent the: storage; spool, and a transfer reelrotatably and slidably mounted on. said shaft at the oppositeend of thereel.

6. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a strander comprising. a hollowcentral shaft, means for is rotating said shaft, means carried by saidshaft for twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawingsaid filaments and core through said last-named means, a plurality offilament feeding units arranged end-to-end on said shaft, at least oneof said units comprising a main reel concentric with and frietionall-ymounted on said shaft, a floating eye member frictionally mounted onsaid reel and adapted to draw a filament therefrom, a fixed eye memberrigidly mounted on said shaft in spaced relation to the floating eyemember, a storage spool freely rotatable on said shaft. adjacent saidfloating eye member, the periphery of said storage spool having anaxially concave surface, and a trans.- fer reel rotatabl yand slidablymounted on said shaftat. the opposite end of the reel.

7. In rope. manufacturing apparatus, a strander comprising-a hollowcentral shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means carried .by saidshaft for twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawing.said filaments and core through said last-named means, a plurality offilament feeding units. arranged end-to-end on said shaft, at least oneof said units comprising a main reel concentric with and frictionallymounted on said shaft, a floating eye member frictionally mounted onsaid reel and adapted to draw a filament therefrom, a fixed eye memberrigidly mounted on said shaft in spaced relation to the floating eyemember, a storage spool freely rotatable. on said shaft between said eyemembers, the periphery of said. storage spool having an axially concavesurface, anda transfer reel rotatably and slidably mounted on said shaftat the opposite end of the reel. 1

8. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a strander comprising a hollowcentral shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means carried by saidshaft for twisting filaments around a. central core,

,means for drawing said filaments and core throughsaid last-named.means, a plurality .of

filament feeding units arranged end-to-end on ,said shaft, at leastoneof said units comprising,

a first sleeve journaled on saidshaft, a second sleeve slidably butnon-rotatably mounted on -t.at.ably and, slidably mounted'on said shaftat the opposite end. of the sleeves.-

9. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a strander comprising a. hollowcentral shaft, meansfor rotating said shaft, means carried by said shaft'for. twisting filaments around a central core,

means for drawing said filaments and core through said, last-namedmeans, a plurality of filament feeding units arranged end-to-end on saidshaft, atleast one of said units comprising a firstjsleeye journaled onsaid shaft, a second sleeve slidably but non-rotatablymounted on saidsleeve, a plurality of fingers in operatiye: association with saidsecond sleeve, a; plurality of links for radially moving saidfingerswith respect to said sleeve, means, for axially" retaining said flngersw-ith respect to said sleeve, a, floating eye member frictionallymounted on said first sleeve,friction means between said eye member andsaid sleeve for providing limited relative rotation therebetween, astorage spool freely rotatable on said shaft adjacent said floatingmember, a fixed eye member rigidly mounted on said shaft adjacent thestorage spool, and a transfer reel rotatably and slidably mounted onsaid shaft at the opposite end of the sleeves.

10. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a strander comprising a hollowcentral shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means carried by saidshaft for twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawingsaid filaments and core through said last-named means, a plurality offilament feeding units arranged end-to-end on said shaft, at least oneof said units comprising a main reel concentric with and frictionallymounted on said shaft, a floating eye member frictionally mounted onsaid reel and adapted to draw a filament therefrom, a storage spoolfreely rotatable on said shaft adjacent said floating member, a fixedeye member rigidly mounted on said shaft adjacent the storage spool, atransfer reel rotatably and slidably mounted on said shaft at theopposite end of the reel, a plurality-of axially extending fingers onsaid main 'reel,

means for radially expanding and retracting said fin ers, and aplurality of juxtaposed oppositely extending fingers on said transferreel, said fingers adapted to interengage each other when the transferreel is moved axially on the shaft.

11. In rope manufacturing apparatus. a strander comprising a hollowcentral s aft, means for rotating said shaft. means carried by saidshaft for twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawingsaid filaments and core through said last-named means, a plurality of fiament feeding units arranged end-to-nd on said shaft, at least one ofsaid units comprising a main reel concentric with and frictionally'monnted on said shaft, 2. floating eye member frictionally mounted onsaid reel and ada ted to draw a filament therefrom, a storage spoolfreely rotatable on said shaft adjacent said floating member, a fixedeye member rigidly mounted on said shaft adjacent the storage spool, atransfer reel rotatably and slidably mounted on said shaft at the oposite end of the reel, a plurality of filament feeding units arrangedend-to-endon said shaft, at least one of said units comprising a mainreel concentric with and frictionally mounted on said shaft, a brake forsaid reel, a floating eye member frictionally mounted on said reel andadapted to draw a filament therefrom,

a storage spool freely rotatable on said shaft adjacent said floatingmember, a fixed eye mem- '*ber rigidly mounted on said shaft adjacentthe storage spool, and a transfer reel rotatably and slidably mounted onsaid shaft at the opposite end of the'reel.

"1 3. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a

stander comprising a hollow central shaft, means for rotating saidshaft, means carried by said shaft for twisting filaments around acentral core, means for drawing said filaments and core through saidlast-named means, a plurality of filament feeding units arrangedend-to-end: on said shaft, at least one of said units comprising a mainreel concentric with and frictionally mounted on said shaft, a floatingeye member frictionally mounted on said reel and adapted to draw afilament therefrom, a storage spool freely rotatable on said shaftadjacent said floating member, a fixed eye member rigidly mounted onsaid shaft adjacent the storage spool, a transfer reel rotatably andslidably mounted on said shaft at the opposite end of the reel, andmeans for axially sliding said transfer reel on the shaft.

14. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a strander comprising a hollowcentral shaft, means for rotating aid shaft, means carried by said shaftfor twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawing saidfilaments and core through said last-named means, a plurality offilament feeding units arranged end-to-end on said shaft, at least oneof said units comprising a main reel concentric with and frictionallymounted on said shaft, a brake for said reel, a floating eye memberfrictionally mounted on said reel and adapted to draw a filamenttherefrom, a storage spool freely rotatable on said shaft adjacent saidfloating member, a fixed eye member ri idly mounted on said shaft adacent the storage s ool, a tran fer reel rotatablv and slidably mountedon said shaft at the o posite end of the reel, and means for axiallysliding said transfer reel on the shaft.

15. In rope manufacturing a aratus, a strander comprising a hollowcentral shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means carried by saidshaft for twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawingsaid filaments and core through said last-named means, a plurality. offilament feeding units arranged end-to-end on said shaft, at least oneof said units comprising a main reel concentric with and frictionallymounted on said shaft, a floating eye member frictionally mounted onsaid reel and adapted to draw a filament therefrom, a storage spoolfreely rotatable on said shaft adjacent said floating member, a fixedeye member rigidly mounted on said shaft adjacent the storage spool, atransfer reel rotatably and slidably mounted on said shaft at theopposite end of the reel, a flanged periphery on said transfer reel, acylindrical portion of smaller diameter axially adjacent to said flangedperiphery, the side of said periphery and the cylindrical portionforming a wire winding surface, and a tapered storage surface contiguousto said cylindrical surface.

16. Apparatus in accordance with claim 15, in which the minimum diameterof the tapered surface on the transfer reel is substantially less thanthe diameter of the main reel, and the maximum .diameter of the taperedsurface is equal to or less than the diameter of the main reel.

1'7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 15, in which the flange isslotted axially between the fingers.

18. Apparatus in accordance with claim 15, in which the fingers on thereels are provided with radially spaced apertures adapted to receivewire end retaining means.

19. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a. strander comprising a hollowcentral shaft.

-means for rotating said shaft, means carried by said shaft for twistingfilaments around a central core, means for drawing said filaments andcore through said last-named means, a plurality of filament feedingunits arranged end-to-end on said shaft, at least one of said unitscomprising a main reel concentric with and frictionally mounted on saidshaft, a plurality of axially extending fingers rigidly attached to saidmain reel, a floating eye member frictionally mounted on said reel andadapted to draw a filament therefrom, a storage spool freely rotatableon said shaft adjacent said floating member, a fixed eye member rigidlymounted on said shaft adjacent the storage spool, and a transfer reelrotatably and slidably mounted on said shaft at the opposite end of thereel.

20. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a stander comprising a hollowcentral shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means carried by saidshaft for twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawingsaid filaments and core through said last-named means, a plurality offilament feeding units arranged end-to-end on said shaft, at least oneof said units comprising a main reel concentric with and frictionallymounted on said shaft, a plurality of axially extending fingers rigidlyattached to said main reel, a plurality of pivoting members at the endof at least one of said fingers, a floating eye member frictionallymounted on said reel and adapted to draw a filament therefrom, a storagespool freely rotatable on said shaft adjacent said floating member, afixed eye member rigidly mounted on said shaft adjacent the storagespool, and a transfer reel rotatably and slidably mounted on said shaftat the opposite end of the reel.

21. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a strander comprising a hollowcentral shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means carried by saidshaft for twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawingsaid filaments and core through said last-named means, a plurality offilament feeding units arranged end-' to-end on said shaft, at least oneof said units comprising a main reel concentric with and frictionallymounted on said shaft, a floating eye member frictionally mounted onsaid reel and adapted to draw a filament therefrom, a storage spoolfreely rotatable on said shaft adjacent said floating member, a fixedeye member rigidly mounted on said shaft adjacent the storage spool, atransfer reel rotatably and slidably mounted on said shaft at theopposite end of the reel, and means for independently rotating saidtransfer reel to wind a filament coil thereon.

22. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a strander comprising a hollowcentral shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means carried by saidshaft for twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawingsaid filaments and core through said last-named means, a plurality offilament feeding units arranged end-to-end on said shaft, at least oneof said units comprising a main reel concentric with and frictionallymounted on said shaft, a floating eye member frictionally mounted onsaid reel and adapted to. draw a filament therefrom, a storage spoolfreely rotatable on said shaft adjacent said floating member, a fixedeye member rigidly mounted on said shaft adjacent the storage spool, atransfer reel rotatably and slidably mounted on said shaft at theopposite end of the reel, means for independently rotating said transferreel to wind a filament coil thereon, and filament feeding meansincluding a swift in operative associa tion with the transfer reel.

23. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a strander comprising a hollowcentral shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means carried by saidshaft for twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawingsaid filaments and core through said last-named means, a plurality offilament feeding units arranged end-to-end on said shaft, at least oneof said units comprising an axially slidable sleeve concentric with andfrictionally mounted with respect to said shaft, a main reelnon-rotatably mounted on said sleeve, a floating eye member mountedadjacent said reel and adapted to draw a filament therefrom, a storagespool freely rotatable on said shaft adjacent said floating member, afixed eye member rigidly mounted on said shaft adjacent the storagespool, and a transfer reel rotatably and slidably mounted on said shaftat the opposite end of the reel.

24. In rope manufacturing apparatus, a strander comprising a hollowcentral shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means carried by saidshaft for twisting filaments around a central core, means for drawingsaid filaments and core through said last-named means, a plurality offilament feeding units arranged end-to-end on said shaft, at least oneof said units comprising an axially slidable sleeve concentric with andfrictionally mounted with respect to said shaft, a main reelnon-rotatably mounted on said sleeve, a floating eye member frictionallymounted on said sleeve and adapted to draw a filament from the mainreel, a storage spool freely rotatable on said shaft adjacent saidfloating member, a fixed eye member rigidly mounted on said shaftadjacent the storage spool, and a transfer reel rotatably and slidablymounted on said shaft at the opposite end of the reel.

DAVID J. YAKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,165,495 Cooper Dec. 28, 19151,513,583 Conner Oct. 28, 1924

